Episode 215 (Manga)
Synopsis The villagers of Enoch Village swarm around Schierke, in awe at the powers she possesses. When questioned about how she saved the village, Schierke explains that she summoned the help of four archangels (the Elemental Kings) to produce the bulwark and also enlisted the help of a river spirit called the Lady of the Depths, whose shrine was destroyed when the church was built. Schierke admits that the destruction that the flood caused was her own doing, as the river spirit hadn't been interacted with in a long time and was thus reckless, and Schierke did not have the power to keep it under control. The villagers are too thankful to Schierke to care that many of their houses have been destroyed, and ask if the use of magic is something anyone can do. Schierke replies that while using magic requires years of practice, communing with the spirits she previously summoned is easily possible, and says that the village priest is well versed in the methods of doing so. The young witch then asks of the priest whether a small shrine can be built for the Lady of the Depths, a request that he decides to grant. Isidro has escaped the crowd and sits with his back to a well. Morgan finds him sitting alone and, sensing that the boy is not in high spirits, calls him a hero for saving the village. He then presents Isidro with a family heirloom - a shortsword, meant to replace Isidro's current adult-sized weapon. Morgan becomes nostalgic, telling Isidro that as a child, he ran away from home. He adds that leaving one's home can come from either a call to adventure, or an escape from one's problems, and he wonders which of the two is the reason Isidro left his own home. Isidro is affected by Morgan's words but decides not to let it show. He tells Morgan that his reason for leaving home transcends either reason Morgan came up with, and to this end he decides to accept Morgan's gift. He leaves the old man by the well and heads to the church, where he finds Guts and Schierke watching over Serpico, who is still injured due to having fallen on a troll's weapon. Schierke explains to Guts and Isidro that while Serpico's injuries are not life-threatening, they do mean that he cannot partake in the search for Farnese and Casca. Guts, Schierke, Isidro, Puck and Ivalera wander through the forest outside Enoch Village. Schierke leads them on as she follows the residual thoughts of the trolls that passed through the area. Though Schierke mentally calls out to Farnese and Casca multiple times, the girls cannot transmit their location due to the fact that they are unconscious. However, the feeling that Schierke receives from them conveys that they are safe. What's more, their silver tunics provide them with extra protection against the trolls, who cannot touch silver at all. Eventually, the group wanders into such a deep part of the forest that Schierke must provide light with her staff. They come across a small creature unlike any in the physical world; a two-legged potato-shaped creature with a human face, minus a mouth. Schierke identifies it as a spirit creature of the Astral world and deduces that they've followed the trolls into the Astral realm itself, more specifically a place known as the Qliphoth. As the group wanders through the Qliphoth, Schierke explains that the Astral world is divided into many regions, each with its own atmosphere. Metaphorically, the darkest of these regions is the Qliphoth, where all manner of impossible creatures reside. However, the Astral world cannot normally be perceived so easily; the creatures that inhabit it were originally figments of people's imaginations that were made real in the Astral world. Schierke suspects that the sudden, bigger overlap between the physical and Astral worlds (the reason ogres and trolls are seen in the physical world) derives from Griffith's being brought back to the physical world from the realm of the God Hand. Characters in Order of Appearance *Ivalera *Schierke *Morgan *Isidro *Serpico *Guts *Puck *Ivalera *Casca (Image) *Farnese (Image) *Griffith (Image)